“Very early in the morning, in the last phase of the moonlit night I got up and woke my beloved Lord with the call of my extreme devotion and Love.

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The pain in my heart for my love comforted by calling myself with my own name repeatedly, O Lalla, O Lalla, why don’t you wake! Thus awakened my mind was cleansed of all its dirt and defilement and I became one with my Lord, my love and with it both my body and soul got enlightened.”

Comment:--

The- essence of this poetic composition is the truest truth of life and the expression of the depth of the love and devotion of Lalleshuri for her Lord. It’s only the depth of devotion that takes a seeker nearer the truth of this life. The deeper the devotion the easier the path to success! You may waste numerous lives and still not achieve your goals though you can achieve your cherished goals instantly whenever you touch the deepest of the deep, the rarest of the rare extent of devotion for your Lord. The condition is only the depth and appropriateness of your devotion. Once you reach that extent of devotion and love you’ve got your purpose instantly. Lalleshuri has compared her personal devotion to a shooting pain in her body. One cannot take away one’s attention away from that pain until it’s there and once it’s over the attention is diverted. Once one is able to treasure such a love for the Lord, once the total attention is continuously centered upon His holiness all the time without even an instant of deviation his success is at his hand. It’s undoubtedly very difficult to develop such a devotion but not impossible. It’s only the lure of the world and its possessions that distract you from your purpose. The love of worldly possessions, wealth and properties along with its glamour takes your attention away from the real purpose of life. Unless we distance ourselves considerably from active life the real purpose cannot be achieved. We are not required to shun all interest in life and run to the forest. That does not essentially serve the purpose. One has to be active in life but all along remain in constant remembrance of the Lord. Being active in the affairs of the world but completely detached from its lure is the work of a great yogi that lots of awakened individuals have been able to achieve. Great household saints have worked actively in both situations. They were active householders but their heart was perpetually with their Lord.

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Zanem praa’vith viboo no chon’dum,

Loo’ban boo’gan barem ne praey

Somuy aahar saithah zonum,

Tso’lum dokh waav po’lum dai.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“Upon getting human form I chose to remain away from all worldly wealth and power and didn’t seek any glamour whatsoever. I didn’t follow the greed for riches or worldly comfort but remained contented with whatever was bestowed upon me. I adopted moderation in everything, dress, food, etc and braved all winds of trouble and committed myself only to the devotion of God.”

Comment:--

Lalleshuri gives an appropriate lesson in this Vaakh -- the futility of excessive involvement in the worldly affairs. She stresses upon that the purpose of life is not overindulgence, enjoying the tastes of riches, tasty foods and the sensual pleasures but following its real purpose, i.e. working earnestly for the awakening of self and ultimately being one with the universal Lord, the Supreme-Shiva. The message conveyed here that we should avoid all extremes in worldly matters and adopt simple moderate means and be absorbed mentally with the ultimate love of the Lord. This moderation in life naturally follows once we’re convinced that the worldly life is not at all a permanent home for us and its real purpose is to achieve freedom from its web – the recurring cycle of life and death. It has to be borne permanently in mind that the purpose of the devotion of the Lord doesn’t suggest that we’ve to reject this life totally and seek the house of God. It further conveys that life is no doubt to live fully but with moderation in all its activities and above all keeping the thought of the supreme Lord always alive within so that whatever is done is done for the sake of the Lord which’s the only ultimate reality, the rest only a shadow of the truth liable to fall off anytime, any moment. Thus the reality of life can be understood only by living it fully and not giving up its interests totally but at the same time not be overwhelmed by its attractions to the extent that one forgets its truest purpose which’s the pursuit of the Lord by developing His ultimate devotion and love such that there’s a natural uplift of the spirit which ultimately transcends to being one with Him. The human life is an exclusive opportunity for man to work for his liberation from the pain of the frequent life and death but unfortunately millions of lives are wasted without achieving its real purpose and thus making the horrors of life and death a so called reality which has become virtually an unavoidable circumstance.

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Za’nem prae’vith ka’ram so’wum,

Dha’rm po’lum soi cham sath;

Net’ran an’dhar prem do’rum,

Tso’rum te mo’num yu’hay akh.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“On getting the human form I didn’t opt for any unnecessary worldly obsessions as it was my primary effort to keep all the desires of flesh at bay and be engaged only with the vocations of Dharma or righteousness. This, for me is the greatest encouraging factor in my path towards emancipation. I always cherished a sincere love for the people of the world in my eyes so that whatever I did or saw was simply the will of my Lord nothing my own.”

Comment:--

One who is overwhelmed with the intense love and devotion of the Lord his whole personality is revolutionized. He cherishes no thought except the thought of the Lord. All worldly obsessions and attractions finish for him and whatever he does is done in the name of the Lord. For him there remains no chance for getting anything amiss or against the will of God. Great souls are overwhelmed with the obsession of the Lord so much so that they are ever ready to leave this material body and be one with their Lord once its function is over. They carry a sacred aura of divine light around them which can almost be felt by everyone. Their outer countenances often belie their interior thought. They usually seem to perform as ordinary people but in their heart of hearts they’re merged with the supreme, become one with the Supreme Shiva. They’ve overcome the cycle of life and death and made their life really worthwhile. Lalleshuri was a super being who had taken the human form just for the awakening of man. She succeeded in her mission by showing the path of piety and awakening to the erring masses. She cared least for her personal comfort or worldly life. She had overcome all human desire and the pleasures of sense so much so that in her initial stage of wanderings she was abused and taunted for her out of the world behaviour till such time she was accepted by the masses as a par excellent saint and a super soul who had been sent by the Lord for their truest benefit and the general good of the masses. The people have always been in need of such reformers and teachers who come on the stage of this world and act in their own style; show the path of righteousness to the people leaving a deep indelible impression of their existence and leave when their mission is fulfilled.

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Me’thya ka’pat a’sath tro’wum,

Ma’nas ko’rum suy up’deesh;

Za’nas an’dhar kee’wal zo’num,

Annas khyai’nas kus chum doosh.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“I remained far away from all worldly dross like falsehood, fraud and deceit as I primarily taught my mind to avoid all such distractions. I didn’t maintain any distinction between man and man; neither did I find any inhibition in associating with any of them or taking their foods.”

Comment:--

Lalleshur- i was very liberal in her associations with all kinds of people. She was revered equally by the people of all faith as to her all faiths were equally authentic ways of God. She taught them the ultimate way of living, extending all love and compassion to everyone high and low, rich and poor and doing everything in the Lord’s name so that nothing wrong is committed. It was her prime concern to create bridges of understanding between man and man who had been warring with each other consequent upon the exploitations on the basis of caste and community by some vested interests. She succeeded in her mission such that both Hindus and Muslims of Kashmir considered her as a sincere messenger from God to show them the path for reconciliation and the way towards truth. All such messengers of God are above all such distinctions. They do not nourish any kind of hatred between man and man as their main concern is always to bring all types of people together who for some worldly reasons are brought on the war path by some vested interests. None of the sincere and faithful people of the God do ever try to divide people in the name of faith or religion. It’s only the selfish who for their personal interest try to exploit certain people on the basis of their faith. Such people are the enemies of humanity and the Lord as they truly do not perform any sincere service of their Lord as they claim loudly. Lalleshuri was one among the towering personalities of the world who had come to strengthen the bonds of humanity in her own region besides giving them lessons to make their lives purposeful. She succeeded substantially in her mission as everybody without the discrimination of faith honoured her and followed her teachings not only in her life much so after her too to the extent that her words were not only followed in their full spirit but also preserved safely through memory line for hundreds of years as the word of God. Thus the Vaakhs of Lalleshuri became an indispensable part of Kashmir culture.

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Dode kyah za’ne yas no ba’ney,

Game’key ja’may wa’lith ta’ney

Ghare gha’re phee’res pya’yum ka’ney,

Kanh te no dyon’thum pan’ney ka’ney.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“Only those who have suffered the troubles of life know their pinch. I wore the garments of sufferings all my life and continued going door to door to convey my celestial message. Though generally not honoured everywhere, I was scorned at places and even frightened away by pelting stones at me but I persisted and continued with my noble mission. Sometimes I felt lonely as it seemed that nobody supported me.”

Comment:--

All great people with a mission are seen suffering in the beginning though they withstand knowing fully well that people will ultimately recognize their work and give them their due respect. Same was true with Lalleshuri. It took people pretty long time to recognize her greatness as a benefactor of the masses. It is not a solitary example of a great benefactor of humanity not being treated well by those to whom she had come to show the path of brotherhood, piety and above all awakening. Almost all great people throughout the world have suffered at the hands of those who benefited later from their deeds and works. Though she expresses sorrow over the attitude of these people towards her but knows fully well that their actions were not deliberate but only a result of their ignorance. The honour that was enjoyed by Lalleshuri in her later life and after her celestial flight is really unprecedented in the history of Kashmir but we still regret the attitude of the unsuspected people around her who took time to accept her greatness. Though Kashmir has produced numerous high class scholars and poets for thousands of years besides great saints and savants but the recognition received by her is unprecedented in the history of Kashmir. But some instances of neglect cannot be ignored in recent times when the greatness of this great Kashmir Yogini and mystic poet was sidelined to fulfill some narrow interests of some important but vested interests in Kashmir little knowing that the influence that she has created cannot be overshadowed by the gimmicks of certain individuals for their personal and political interest. It can be imagined how her poetic compositions were sung by all and sundry in Kashmir for hundreds of years and continue even today. How can this fact be ignored that her golden words were preserved safely by masses in their memory and carried through safely as a word of God for many generations without any obvious distortion which is the greatest contribution of the people of Kashmir towards this great soul. Though the truth is there that sufficient work has not been done by Kashmir scholars on her work as it deserved and it’s only the unprecedented devotion of the masses that has kept her above board up till now surpassed by none.

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Paa’nas lae’gith roo’dukh mai tsey,

Mai tsey tshan’daan loo’sum doh;

Paa’nas manz yali dyu’thuk mae tsey,

Mae tsey te paa’nas dyu’tum tshoh.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“O Lord! You continued to be with me but still evaded me your holy presence. I went on looking for you all my life, here and there till my life began to wane away. Strange enough, at last I experienced your presence in the deep recesses of my own heart. It was such an ecstasy that I forgot my self completely when I understood that the duality had actually vanished.”

Comment:--

A description with high poetic brilliance! Lalleshuri describes her personal experience with her Lord using a single word (maets) repeatedly and dramatizing it with various connotations. She says that her Lord continued to be with her all the time and still she couldn’t get even a single clue about Him despite her strenuous efforts. She went on seeking Him till the dusk of her life when she ultimately realized that her Lord was nowhere else but inside her own pure devout heart. It was the real revolution of her self as the truth had actually dawned upon her. This awakening of self is the greatest mystery of this world and all human beings as it eludes them all their lives and even repeatedly life after life. Instantly it changed the whole perspective of the life process of Lalleshuri as she had became one with her Lord leaving behind everything about her worldly existence. Why her Lord kept so far elusive from her was because of her own incapability or incomplete devotion or Saadhna. The Lord is always eager to see his devotee nearest to Him, rather being one with Him but the distance is always there because the human beings mostly keep glued with the affairs of the world and do not hear the call of their Lord. Now Lalleshuri after her awakening of self her worldly existence though alive, moving and eating and doing everything had remained just a shadow of her real self that was floating far above her earthly existence. Such awakened souls naturally lose all interest in their body frame which remains of very little importance for them after they get awakened to the secret of the universe and it’s Lord. Lalleshuri admits clearly that her Lord was always with her and it was her own incapability that kept her away from Him so long and when she ultimately experienced His holy presence nearest to her didn’t seem to her a big event though she longed for it all her life. The point for introspection here is that the Lord though nearest goes on eluding us all our lives and even life after life and most of us go on suffering the pain of birth and death unendingly.

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Lo’leke naa’rai lolli lalle’no’wum,

Mar’nai mo’yas te roo’zes ne za’rai;

Rangh rets zai’chey kyah ne rangh ho’wum,

Bo da’pun tso’lum kyah sana ka’rai.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“In my extreme ecstasy of love I took my Lord, my love in my arms and shook Him to and fro like a mother shakes her child and got so absorbed that I lost my individual self completely in the process and became one with my Lord such that I was dead before my natural death. There was not a single trace left of my person with its caste, creed and colour as I had attained the newest colour of my Lord. All traces of my personal identity along with all egos had vanished and I am basking in the glory of my achievement.”

Comment:-

Lall- eshuri describes the simplest way of achieving the benevolence of the Lord through boundless love or Bakhti when the seeker forgets everything about his self and gets fully absorbed in the extreme love or devotion of God like Mirabhai or Surdas who sang praises of their Lord in high ecstasy losing all attention of the outside world. This is a strange surrender of self on the altar of the Lord when the worldly interest is finished with him and he is absorbed totally with the divine. This is a strange revolution of self when being one with the lord remains the single priority with an individual and nothing else attracts his attention. Such a devotee has reached the final stage of his spiritual development because all his interest in the world is gone and he is ready to sacrifice it any time in a jiffy if his Lord wishes like that. The goal of all such spiritual seekers is to get absolute freedom from this mundane world and get absorbed with the ultimate reality of this universe, the Supreme-Shiva. Once achieved, all traces of human existence come to a naught as its purpose is over which’s called death before death. The body frame may still be existing but that’s exclusively for some purpose and hence he is quite different from others -- walking, eating, dressing and performing but with a strange spiritual aura not commonly observed by people. Such highly emancipated people become usually the torch bearers of the suffering humanity who guide them out of this mundane world for a better future. Lalleshuri was such an awakened soul who had achieved all the heights of spiritual excellence but was working on a mission, not for her self but as a teacher and a symbol of deliverance for others for all times to come. She succeeded in her mission and got total recognition of her work by becoming eternal in the hearts of the masses.

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Ma’nas graai tsej paze’kuy ann khyo’me,

Tav’kuy bal gome ker’mas krai;

Aa’gur wae’tith am’reth zal chom,

Shive laye ma’n gome bar’mas prai.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“Once I achieved excellence in the spiritual field there was a complete changeover of self from a self-centered attribute to a selfless attitude such that whatever I did ate or indulged into was merely a celestial process and thus I busied myself into the selfless devotion of my Lord. When I reached the source of divinity and drank deep into the heavenly nectar, I got merged fully with the divine grace and shed all traces of my personal identity and became one with the supreme.”

Comment:--

Lalleshuri describes her personal experience of a complete revolution of self upon getting fully enlightened and being one with her Lord. All her personal dimensions improve and she becomes absolutely truthful and selfless which gives her a strange spiritual strength as she has became a constituent of divinity. Whatever she does or speaks is just enveloped with the devotion of her Lord and thus she becomes an embodiment of love of her Lord besides being spiritually uplifted. It’s a spiritual phenomenon when those who’ve achieved spiritual excellence are lifted quite above others in their activities of head, heart and hand. They’ve detached themselves from the worldly affairs and are masters of their self as they’ve their senses and their activities completely under control. Absolute contentment is their motto as they’re always blessed with the grace of their Lord. Their hand is the hand of God and their heart is the heart of a child. They’ve overcome the fear of death as they consider it a blessing in respect of their successful tenure of life. They’re freed from the cycle of life and death destined to leave this world never to be reborn. They merge with the larger ocean of this life by becoming one with it. It’s like a small droplet of water becoming the ocean itself by becoming one with it. It’s the extreme ecstasy of an individual soul to be one with the super soul, the Lord. As such there’s no limit to the excellence that a human being receives on being awakened to the secrets of this universe and its Lord, Supreme-Shiva. This revolution of self has been described beautifully by numerous holy men who have achieved such an excellence. As per one such description neither the tongue that speaks not the mind that conjures it up is ever tired by making the descriptions of the state of affairs that a person is blessed with upon realization of such exclusive grace of the Lord.

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Tshan'dum te tshaun'dum tren dee'shan,

Naeb te ni'shane lo'bum ne ku'nay;

Pru'tshum sae'dhen saa'dan te tape rae'shan,

Tim boo'zith laeg riv'nay;

Ade ha maali ker'nam daya dyut'nam dar'shun’ye,

Sar'ney su de'shaan panai paan ne ku’nay.

Lalleshuri Says: ---

“I explored all the three worlds (sky, earth and the underworld) in search of my Lord but found no clue. I asked people both ordinary and awakened but all of them responded with sheer ignorance. But I persisted till the miracle happened that my Lord appeared before me. I drank deep the holy nectar and learnt to my surprise that He is omnipresent and omniscient and observed everything closely though hidden from the public view.”

Comment:--

The description indicates that the Lord can be approached by persistent personal efforts only not by seeking other’s help except one’s spiritual master who is the only person to help and put on the right path. This is also a common saying that the Lord cannot be found anywhere else but only in the recesses of one’s pure heart. In spite of being the nearest success eludes the common seeker and he continues going astray continuously. There should be some strong reasons for this hide and seek of the Lord and unless one identifies them and make necessary efforts to overcome them by adequate dedication the success would continue eluding us indefinitely. Some basic requirements are to be fulfilled. The first and foremost action is to identify the basic enemies of spiritual development, the five emotions --- pride, lust, anger, greed and falsehood. And the next to add is the false attachment to the worldly possessions. Unless one is able to keep them under control along with their controller, the mind no development is possible. Next requirement is the development of intense love and devotion of the Lord. The deeper the devotion and love earlier the success. Lalleshuri indicates to the same impediments to success that she personally had to face in her development. She has the incessant feeling about the presence of her Lord very near to her unendingly but still she cannot reach the goal until she is able to clear her mind of all the worldly dross and once she reaches the required stage of her personal development she instantly experiences the divine presence face to face which heralds the end of all curiosity attached to the ultimate spiritual success. The expression of denial to any clue by various awakened souls whom she approaches for help is an indication that the seeker should not expect any help or clue in this direction but work himself till his goal is reached. Reaching such emancipation is a great achievement aspired by all lovers of the Lord and sincere devotees and it’s ultimately only the depth of devotion and love of the Lord that takes one nearer to the His grace. The wavering faith and alloyed devotion is the cause of all suffering and delay in awakening. The eternal belief that God can be found everywhere as all creation is His celestial play is the ultimate truth of this world and hence discrimination of any kind whatsoever is also detrimental to all spiritual progress.